Wild Horse Island: History and Lore

The first great thing about a trip to Wild Horse Island State Park is that you can’t get there simply by driving your car, like most other state, or even national, parks. Rather, you need to swim, take a boat, Jetski, canoe, kayak or use another water going device to reach this beautiful island located just off the Big Arm shores on Flathead Lake. To me, this means that the people who visit Wild Horse Island are seriously interested in what they see and do (animals and hiking) rather than driving a car along a paved road, not once leaving the relative safety of their vehicle. Call me a purist, but this is the least you can do when visiting a natural, protected place such as Wild Horse Island State Park.

When I took my visit recently, we (myself, colleague Missy Hould, her son Ashton and friend Rob) set off from the Big Arm State Park boat launch. There are other ways to get out there, including from any launch in Polson, but Big Arm is fairly close and very pretty. The ride is short and nice, but we decided to circle the 2,163 acre island once in the boat to get a good perspective of it. Good thing we did, because as we sped by one of the bays, a huge bird with an equally huge fish flew off to the side and landed in a tree to eat its meal. We approached the tree to get a better look, and discovered it was a bald eagle. I took this to be a good omen for the day, and off we went after watching the giant bird demolish its fishy meal.

We pulled into a beach at the aptly named Driftwood Point, and embarked on a short hike. The island is beautiful and tranquil, filled with native palouse prairie, in addition to plenty of trees. Birds and mammals abound; we saw the bald eagle, osprey, mule deer and bighorn sheep. According to the park service, there are more than 100 types of birds and mammals on the island.

“There was a black bear on the island for awhile,” Zeff Kingsley, the summer seasonal ranger for Wild Horse Island, told me. “He must of swam out there. It was fine until it started getting aggressive, and eventually broke into a cabin. We set traps and looked for him, but by that time, it must have swam off the island.”

In addition to the brief visit by the bear, bighorn sheep, white coyotes, mule deer, badgers, osprey, bald and golden eagles, and of course, one wild horse, all live in the habitat of the island, according to Kingsley. Visitors have a good chance of seeing one or more of these animal groups while on the island.

History

 The island was officially designated a state park in 1978, but it’s history traces back much further. The island is called “Ctise?m,”  in Salish, which means “Something Sweet or Good.” The name comes from a Coyote story, which are traditionally creation stories for the Salish and Pend d’Oreille. According to Thompson Smith, a member of the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee, this testifies to the importance for “millennia” that the island has had for local tribes.

“It was never used as a major village location, but the tribes moved with the seasons,” Smith said. “The elders have always said, ‘Wherever we go, we are home.’ The island has an abundance of game, fish, plant foods and medicines.”

In Pend d’Oreille oral histories of the island, the elders told of how the tribe was so ravaged by smallpox long ago that their horses were left to fend for themselves. When the lake froze over in the winter, the remaining horses walked to the island and became “wild” (courtesy of the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee).

As the English naming story of the island goes, members of the Salish tribe used the island in the 1800s as a safe haven for their equine during battles with other tribes. Somehow, several horses stayed out there, and the name of the island was christened. The original horses have since died off, but Kingsley said the Bureau of Land Management gives the park more horses to keep the namesake going. As of right now, one horse remains from three that were given to the park 15 years ago.

There are 56 privately owned lots along the perimeter of the island that are not considered part of the park. They were owned before the island became a state park, and are still used. One structure that is no longer occupied is the Johnson Homestead. Built in 1911,  the cabin is easiest to get to on the path from Skeeko Bay, but is also reachable from Eagle Cove or other points of the island. It’s a nice hike up from Skeeko, and there is a public bathroom along the way.

Remember, when visiting the island, be sure to enjoy it. But help everyone else enjoy it by following the posted rules. These include: no fires, no camping and no pets. Also, pack out any trash or food. I encourage you to get out to the island and see how beautiful it is for yourself - even if you have to swim.